Hey, guys! Thanks a MILLION for all of your reviews and your interest in this story! I appreciate every single one of you!

For those wondering, I'm not writing in Alison or Mona's POVs because, I guess you can say I'm just used to writing the four girls. I've been writing PLL fanfic since before Ali became a series regular, and I just don't think Mona would meld so well in this story. (Besides, she got such a badass ending already, I don't know what I could add to that!) Alison's story melds into Emily's, so you won't be completely left out of Alison's mind.

I'll be planning out some chapters this weekend before writing too much more, so keep sending in your ideas/suggestions! I have them on a Word doc and I love them a lot. Let's hope I don't forget what I've already written, though! #writerproblems (Seriously, I have forgotten what I have/haven't done for a character in previous chapters before.)

Chapter 3

Aria

When Aria returned upstairs after meeting with her friends, she curled up on a chair in front of the TV and wrapped herself up in a blanket. She didn't bother turning the TV on, instead allowing the quiet of the apartment to calm her beating heart. Prone to panic attacks in the past, she had started getting progressively anxious the past few days. That didn't mean she was constantly down in the dumps, but this sudden, unexpected shift in her and Ezra's lives had shattered the honeymoon phase. She and Ezra had a lot to suddenly deal with on their plate, to the movie deal to the unexpected baby and wedding gifts they still had to sort through and send thank you cards for.

Eventually she grew tired of monitoring her breathing in the still room, and dragged herself and the blanket to the balcony, propping herself in a chair and watching the streets of Rosewood liven up with its inhabitants. The chirping birds, bustling people, and echoes of laughter lifted her spirits for fifteen minutes. Slowly, she peeled herself off the chair and headed back inside, propping herself up in bed with her laptop.

Her mother had complained of lower back pain while pregnant with her, so Aria already made it a habit to support her lower back with pillows even though she wasn't near heavy enough to noticeably feel any strain. Regardless, she was supposed to be "taking it easy," and sitting on a throne of pillows was comfort for anyone. She opened up a new Word document and stared at the blinking cursor for a minute. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but sometimes her best work came with nonstop typing. Even if she wrote a story that ended up being nonsense, it was still better than staring at a wall.

When Aria typed out a few paragraphs, her stomach began to get upset and she sat on the floor of the bathroom for a few minutes to see if it was something she could wait out or needed immediate attention. She was tempted to contact Hanna and Alison for advice, but she needed to wait for the three month mark at least, which meant she was half way there.

The tile was cold and hard, and she hated how her bones ached getting off of it. She headed back to the bed and stared at her cursor some more. Her fingers yearned to continue typing, but she became afraid of what she may start. Closing her laptop, she got up and got dressed, made some oatmeal and stood at the counter while eating it, tired of sitting the entire morning.

Her phone beeped. It was a text from Ezra. "Took the long route. Be back soon."

Sighing, Aria plopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The apartment was so silent, she swore she could hear the digital clock ticking. The digital clock.

Eventually she did decide to write that story, and her fingers flew across the keyboard.

By the time Ezra returned from his run, Aria was almost done with the short story that had flowed out of her fingertips. "What are you working on so intently?" he asked while grabbing a cool water bottle from the fridge.

"Mmmm. Nothing really important. Just…bored, I guess."

As she began to look over her story, her stomach hardened and her hands went cold. It was like she had blacked out while writing, because the story she began writing was about a lonely woman living in a house by herself while her husband was away on business. But it morphed into her own insecurities, preying on her own fears: the woman was pregnant, ended up having a miscarriage, then found out she could no longer have kids after the fact.

Aria slapped the laptop screen shut, gulping the foreign lump that had grown in her throat. Glancing at Ezra, she was grateful that he was too busy reading the newspaper to notice her sudden shakiness. "Have any dinner plans?" she asked in an attempt to clear her uneasiness, her voice cracking but not faltering.

"Nothing special. I was thinking Thai takeout?"

"I'll make something," she offered, her bare feet padding over to the refrigerator to see what was there. She saw now why he offered Thai takeout: there wasn't much in there at the moment. "I'm craving veggie burgers, so I think I'll go to the store…"

"I can go," he volunteered, as she expected. "You'll be on your feet for a while making those…" Aria had a recipe that involved more than just taking a frozen patty and dropping it on a pan. She preferred to make them fresh and out of scratch, which meant standing at the kitchen counter.

Aria wished to ignore his suggestion (but she didn't) and grabbed her bag while saying, "I think I need to get out of this apartment for a bit. Why don't we go together?"

She understood Ezra's anxieties because they were also a manifestation of her own. But she was building up too much pressure already just "taking it easy." They locked up the apartment and went on a brisk walk to the grocery store, Ezra holding her hand like she was a child who might get lost if she didn't. And maybe she was—just not physically.

While Aria was preparing the veggie burgers later, she kept the TV on for some background noise despite not paying attention to a single word coming from the screen. She intently watched her hands kneed the ground veggies, beans, oatmeal and spices together and slap them on a pan. She was trying to keep her attention in the moment instead of straying off into terrifying "what if" scenarios. But her mind kept smothering her with a multitude of concerns, from the baby she may not be able to protect from her own body, to her feeling self-isolated from her friends by not telling them about her developing issues, and to how she may go crazy with no work to do.

She ended up calling her boss, Jillian, to ask if she could return to work earlier than anticipated. She and Ezra had both taken off a decent chunk of time for the beginning of their marriage, but Aria already felt like she was going stir crazy and needed another outlet. She loved her career, and wanted to keep moving with it before she…if she…gave birth and had to take more time off. She was surprised how open Jillian was to letting her return to work without any warning, offering her multiple projects that could be done in the comfort of her own bedroom or office. With no intention to return to Boston, Aria was prepared for Jillian to drop her. But with her and Ezra's hit novel selling millions and with a movie deal in the midst, she guessed Jillian wanted to keep such a success on her hands—which gave Aria a perfect opportunity to publish her own works, too.

After hanging up, Aria waited excitedly for Jillian's emails to slide into her inbox. But Jillian was a busy woman, and wasn't going to send Aria anything immediately after their phone call. So, Aria was forced to stay in her thoughts, choosing to visit Ezra down in The Brew to kill some time.

When she saw him working attentively at his desk, with the newly framed wedding picture and a couple's portrait they had taken years ago decorating it, Aria felt the contents of her stomach swirl. She thought she was going to throw up, but it was just a false alarm, and she could feel tears jabbing at her eyes. "I was thinking…," she said as she walked into the room, disrupting his concentration, even though she didn't know what she had been thinking until it came out of her mouth. "I think we need to tell someone about this." She started to cry. "Like my parents. I can't keep this to ourselves anymore. I'm tired of keeping secrets…" And she collapsed onto his lap, laying her head on his shoulder.

Ezra's arms instinctively wrapped around her body. "Hey… It's okay… Whatever you think is best, we'll do it, okay? We'll visit them tomorrow."

Aria nodded and, even after she was done crying, she stayed curled up on his lap a little longer, soaking in the warmth and reassurance. The knot in her stomach began to release, and she knew when his arms wrapped around her that she was capable of anything, because no matter what, she would always have him by her side.

Spencer

Spencer spent the rest of her day in her mom's office, working on some paperwork she assumed her mom was too busy (and hopefully not too lazy) to finish. She kept her energy up for the day by focusing on something positive and/or something to look forward to—her date with Toby tonight, for example.

When Spencer left at 4:30, she felt exhilarated and freed. She checked her phone and saw she had a text from Toby, Aria, and Emily.

Aria: Dinner at my place on Saturday?

Emily: Thanks again for this morning... I really appreciated your help.

Toby: I'm going to pick you up around 6:30. Does that sound okay?

Spencer quickly replied to all of them: Yes! Sign me up for that chicken parm! and Any time. You know that, Em. and...

She pondered whether to try to fit a pun in or not. She eventually went with the simplistic answer: Sounds wonderful! Can't wait...

Once Spencer returned home, she had about an hour and a half until Toby would pick her up. The week had been long and stressful, and her weekend was looking pretty hectic as well. She decided to use her precious time by herself by sinking into the tub with a glass of wine. Yes, she thought as the warm bubbles took over. If only I had a twenty-four-seven masseuse...

Spencer wasn't the type to spend too much time getting ready for a date. It took her only fifteen minutes to get dressed up: heels, cute dress, some shimmery eyeshadow, mascara, and a bold lipstick. Recently Aria had introduced Spencer to lipsticks, which Spencer had never been a big fan of, but now she was obsessed with them.

At 6:30 sharp, Toby texted, Parked in the driveway. Spencer toddled across her lawn - she had never mastered the art of walking across grass on heels - and straightened up as soon as her feet hit concrete.

"Hi," she greeted him as she stepped into shotgun. But she didn't say it like any other greeting: she said it so that it implied a greeting kiss. Toby got the hint and leaned towards her to properly greet her.

"So, where are we doing tonight?" Spencer asked while buckling in.

"I was thinking dinner and a movie."

"How typical." Spencer joked. "But I love it."

Since they started dating again, Spencer and Toby made it an adventure to try a new restaurant for every date. Last week they took a culinary trip to Egypt, but tonight they were going to...

"Greece. I'm stoked," Spencer said, hopping out of the parked car.

The evening was perfect for a dinner outside. A couple of candles burned away on their table while the patio lights were dimmed. They weren't the only couples out tonight; the place was teeming with them, which explained the amorous atmosphere the restaurant put out.

"I never thought of Greek food as romantic," Spencer commented as she looked over the menu: the classic gyro, salads with goat cheese, and baklava for dessert, all with a "fancier" touch to them—whatever that meant.

Once they ordered, the couple finally settled down. Spencer took Toby's hand, which was minding its own business laying on the table, and squeezed it. "Listen..." If she wasn't going to resolve it now, it was never going to be resolved. "We never finished that conversation..."

"Right..." She could feel Toby's hand shrinking away from hers, but she kept a firm grip on it as if to say, Having this conversation won't break us. Not again.

The mood was mixed by the time the wedding reception came along. Most of the guests were still confused and concerned why the wedding had been cancelled and rescheduled in the first place; gossip spread around about how Ezra could have hit his head so violently and "ended up in the hospital," missing his own wedding.

Spencer wished she didn't know every single detail that went down that day. But it was her friends' party, and she wanted to celebrate. After delivering a heartwarming speech about how amazing Aria ("Oh, and Ezra, too, of course!") was as a friend, she was ready to loosen up on the dance floor. However, there was that entire tradition where the couple had to take the first dance—and it was typically a slow song, too.

Spencer, Hanna, Emily, and Alison sat at a table watching Aria and Ezra's first dance as a married couple begin. "My God, first you have to declare your love for each other with God as your witness, and then you have to show it off some more with a dance? I mean, I know this is all traditional, but it just seems so awkward," Hanna commented on the ordeal. The girls looked at her strangely, thinking she would be the one who would adore all of that, but she didn't have a traditional marriage celebration like they also thought she would.

Unlike Hanna, Spencer thought the complete opposite. "Well, I think the entire thing is romantic." (Oh, how their roles have changed over the years, despite Spencer's claims that she was "always" a romantic.) She offered Toby her hand and they took the dance floor, being the chain reaction for other couples to join in.

For the first minute of dancing, they did nothing but sway and dart their eyes from each other to their surroundings. Spencer guessed things hadn't completely thawed between her and Toby yet.

"Can I ask you something personal?" Spencer finally breached the silence.

"Of course, Spence. You can ask me anything."

"I don't know if you'll like this one..."

"Try me." And he smiled.

Hesitantly, Spencer tried to phrase her question: "I just never asked how you felt when you found out Alex had manipulated you... Manipulated us. Violated us."

Toby's smile had faded. "Well, I don't know how I was supposed to feel. Betrayed, sure. Manipulated, violated, all of those things. But how I was supposed to deal with the situation? I wasn't sure. I just can't get over how I never noticed it wasn't you. I recognized something was off, but I never—"

The two hadn't noticed that the song had ended and the music was picking up. A pair of arms that weren't Toby's wrapped around Spencer's neck—it was the ecstatic bride, who was jumping up and down and asking if she could borrow Spencer for a song. "Do you remember this from the eighth grade? This was our jam!"

Spencer couldn't refuse Aria's wishes, so she grabbed Toby's hand and brought him along to the dance circle that was forming. There was only one more slow song the rest of the night, and by that point everyone was preparing to leave, Spencer included, who again got roped into being a designated driver, this time for every one of her friends (including—yes, including—the bride and groom) except for Toby, who, like her, didn't party as hard as they wanted to that night. And they couldn't discuss anything in the car because, even if it did offer them some privacy (which it didn't), everyone in the back was talking and laughing so loudly.

"What I wanted to say was… I did feel violated and betrayed, but most of all I am ashamed that I didn't recognize it wasn't you… I feel like I could get over everything else—brush it off as not meaning anything, which it didn't—but at the time, I thought it was, so I thought it was meaningful. And…" Spencer understood the convolutedness, and let his thoughts drift off.

In the end, Spencer and Toby had to come to the conclusion that they may never fully comprehend how Alex fit into this situation, other than that they both felt wronged and manipulated by her. As much as she tried to break them apart, what Alex couldn't have predicted was how much closer she made them. They needed each other, especially now. And, Spencer hoped after that moment, they would keep needing each other, because having a friend like Toby was more than she ever thought she deserved.

Coming up next: Hanna turns to an unlikely ally for advice on her body anxiety while Emily begins looking for a new career.